Having overexerted himself the last few weeks, the demon moved through the empty field house, feeling the need for some leisurely activities in which to relax and recuperate. With the uses of his illusionary powers, especially the internal world he controlled, he had felt as if he had overstretched himself, allowing too much of his power to be squandered with his 'games'.

While they had been quite fun, the feeling of powerlessness was not something he relinquished. And happening upon an empty, lit-up swimming pool, Fornicarus decided a swim was just what he needed. 'Yes... the water should do me some good...'

Slithering toward the pool, the demon's form shrank smaller and smaller, until it had become roughly human-sized, save for the long tail that continued to drag from behind. Splashing into the water, Fornicarus completed the rest of his transformation into a young man, choosing to take this form just in case some one came along or if there were people that happened to catch sight of him.

He certainly didn't need to leave himself that vulnerable. And so, the demon stretched his 'human' body, feeling his muscles ache and bones creak softly. He had certainly pushed his powers too far. With swimming trunks on, just for the sake of his disguise, Fornicarus began leisurely swimming around in the pool, diving into the deep end and allowing water to be absorbed into his flesh. 'Now, this is just what I needed!'

(yeah! *world screams noob* ;_;)

With the lights out and her room mate finally asleep, Narissa was finally able to sneak out through her first story window. With the room dark and the only light being that of the pale moonlight, she tipped toed to the glass window and slowly lifted its opening.

Leaning out forward, anyone that could be in front of her would have been able to see the generous size of her breast as he pajama top dipped with her. Slipping out the rest of herself, she landed silently in the ground, her dark toned skin covered mostly with cotton plaid top and bottoms, her feet bare to the grass on the ground. Looking back and forth with her dark eyes, seeing it was safe, she rose to her full and tall height and left her window in a random direction.

'I did it. . . I finally broke free!' she thought to herself, smiling as she gave herself a personal tour of the outside of Shokushu. She remembered being offered a guided tour but gently refused. 'I can't be babied forever. I can do this on my own.'

Her own bit of freedom was her only companion as she walked freely through the night scenery, the cool air pleasently blowing against her. Watching her step and looking down she blushed to herself. Another good thing she left by herself, the pricks on her pajama top signified how cold she was.

'A gymnasium?' Looking up to another building she was sure wasn't one of the academic parts she walked up to it, attracted to the dull flourescent lights showing from the few of the windows.

(sorry, hope that didn't take too long)

(No worries, no one's in a rush at all! )

Breaking through the surface of the pool, Fornicarus sighed happily, feeling much better than he had lately. Less worn, less used up. Water always seemed to rejuvenate him. Perhaps it had something to do with how humans sometimes seemed attracted to water themselves, so some of that might have passed on to the demon himself.

Fornicarus leaned onto his back, pushing into a backstroke along the pool's length, feeling the water surge past him. He had to admit that he did indeed like swimming, and considered visiting the beach sometimes soon. That had been the areas of his earliest attacks when he first came to the island, and steadily... he had moved deeper and deeper into Shokushu, no place safe from him now. No student capable of eluding his long reaches.

Suddenly, he could feel just a slight blip within himself, alerting him to the approaching presence of a human. Not a monster, for he would know that. Not part of Shokushu's staff neither, for he had no interest in them. But most likely a student... Grinning slightly, the 'man' kept on swimming, intent on enjoying himself, and the student, if she ever crossed his path.

Twisting the steel knob that led into the structure, Narissa made a small gasp when she heard the sound of splashing. If it was a teacher, she knew she'd be in trouble, but poking her head in the person, whomever it was, seemed to not notice her as they swam opposite her towards the deep end. The darker blue of the pool, much like her hair.

Noting their focused manner of swimming, she stepped fully inside. 'It's probably not a teacher. Didn't they have their own dorms on the other side of the island?' With her conclusion, she allowed herself to relax, a mistake on her part to forget both of them were sneaking out after hours.

Her intentions were good. That didn't mean their's weren't. Right?

The contrasting warm air of the place, most likely heated made her calmer as she sat herself next to the wall, her plump bottom cushioning her on the hard pool tiles. Content to just watch.

The feeling much stronger now, Fornicarus knew that the student was likely just outside the room or even inside by now. But to keep it natural, he kept on swimming, turning around quickly and pushing his feet against the poolside. Propelled forth, the demon swam toward the other side. He could tell now where exactly she was, and since she had so graciously walked into the proverbial spider's parlor...

Finally reaching the other side, Fornicarus stopped swimming and broke through the surface, running his hands through the drenched blond hair. As if noticing something in the corner of his eyes, he turned his head slightly to see a young black woman sitting by the wall.

"You know, if you're gonna be watching me, least you could do is give me a towel." The 'man' gestured at a nearby cart full of thick white towels. "Er, you aren't a teacher, are you?" Choosing to misunderstand the situation, the demon decided on a plan of attack and began considering the deceptions he would use this time around instead of using some more of his illusionary powers.

She jumped in her spot, the immediate attention from the now identified blonde male not expected. Trailing her eyes in the direction he was referring to, she spotted a rack of clean white towels, just a little aways from herself. Opposite the direction of the door . . .

"Oh! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to stare," she responded sheepishly as she stood up, her pajamas in full view now making her self-consious as she ducked her head. "No, I'm not a teacher. I just got to Shokushu this morning." Grabbing the cottony soft fabric in her hands, she made her way towards the water's edge until she was near him, proffering the towel.

"My name's Narrisa. And you swam really good back there." A meager attempt to be open with this stranger.

"Heh, thanks. Gotta keep swimming and all, since I got a championship coming up soon for my college swim team." The young man smiled as he took the towel, placing it on the hard tiles and then putting his arms on it as he looked up at Narissa. "I'm Troy, by the way. My sister's new to Shokushu as well. Only because our father made a big donation, of course..."

Shrugging, Troy gave her a slight smile, "And you know how schools can get with their 'benefactors', so they invited us up here to visit the campus. I kinda snuck away for a swim, as you can see." The young man laughed softly, giving her a guilty look.

"So, what made you decide you wanted to go to Shokushu?"

Narrisa smiled at Troy, liking his name. "Well . . . The real reason is," she begun, sitting indian style in front of him. It wasn't academics, as Shokushu provided pretty much the same as her mother's school choice. That's it, it was her mother's decision. It would never had been her's, or her life.

"I came here . . .To be able to go it my own. I guess . . ." Saying it aloud didn't seem to even reasonably cover it as she began to ramble. "I'm just trying to get away, ya know?" The way she scratched her short indigo hair was expressing more of her anxiety on the topic than her words.

Being what he was, the demon could understand far more than what she let on, being privy to her innermost thoughts. It paid to be born of desire and temptation sometimes. But he would have to be careful now, to be sure. As Troy, he gave a nod, giving the idea that he was getting where Narissa was coming from.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. It is kinda nice here, not having to put up with parents trying to handle your life their way. My father is kinda the same, but he gave up on trying to get me to do things his way. He even accuses me of being too independent."

Troy laughed softly, before giving her a smile again. Now to take it a bit further. "Afraid it isn't the same for my sister, she's always trying to make him happy so she came here instead. I don't see her being happy anytime soon if she keep doing what dad tells her to do."

Listening to Troy's story made Narissa feel more comfortable around him, someone she was able to identify with as her anxiety lifted a little.

"Yeah. My mom, she . . . Had the best intentions, and I still love her. But I couldn't let her keep steering me," she said, feeling more freely as she leaned back on her arms, her breast standing out more through the cotton pajama blouse. Even though it had only been a little while, her legs were already beginning to feel stiff in their pretzel fashion and she released them, preferring to dip her bare toes into the warm chlorine smelling water.

Troy listened as the young woman spoke, noticing that she seemed a bit less anxious now. The demon's plan was going along just swimmingly, and yes, the pun was well intended. Watching as she dipped her toes into the pool, Troy remained quiet for a moment, deciding on what to do next.

"Well, then don't let anyone tell you what to do again. They aren't gonna be the one making you happy, only you can do that yourself." And true to what he had said, the demon knew that the key to one's happiness often laid in the person refusing to be held down by anyone else. The only way to be happy was to forge one's way in life on one's own terms.

"Well, would you like to take a swim with me then? It's really a lot of fun, just swimming around. Or... Did your mother say to not swim too?" Troy smiled, taunting Narissa just a bit. He had to maintain the atmosphere of being cool, being reckless, of being uncontrollable, kowtowing to no one at all. He had to be a symbol of independence, to all those who wanted to give in to temptation and not be held back by their morals, by their ethics, by others. "It'll be fun, I promise." Troy added, giving her his best boyish grin.

Narissa blushed at the proposal, endeared by Troy's smile, yet set off by his good humored mocking.

"Haha,"she said dryly. "But I'm not a good swimmer and--" 'The fact that I'm only wearing underwear under my pj's is not something I'd like to share.' Yes, under cotton confines laid dark pinchable nipples, only hald settled into flesh, still a touch of chill from outside affecting them.

"--and it would be too chilly to walk back to my room. As much as she'd love to, she was sensible enough not to go off like that. She'd only prepare for a lonely moonlit stroll and circle back to her room. Finding the pool was an unexpected plus.

"So I'm afraid I'll have to pass," she apoligized sincerely.

Sighing sadly and looking dejected, Troy gave Narissa a playful shrug before waving his hand at her. "No worries about it, it's all right! I totally understand, beside... It's probably a bad idea anyway. It'd be bad if the staff found a guy with a student in the pool, all alone at night." Troy used the towel to wipe what drops of water there were left on his face and then pushed away from the poolside slightly.

"I got to get back to swimming my laps, though. So it was nice meeting you, Narissa." Quite innocently, the young man held out his hand for the farewell shake. "I hope you'll enjoy your time here, and remember! Don't ever let anyone tell you what to do!" The man added with a laugh, seeming more and more like a high school kid than a college man.

Narissa was having second thoughts on the pool after seeing Troy's reaction. A tug of guilt panging in her. But what she said, and didn't say, were true. But seeing the smile on his face and his peppyness back on, she didn't feel so bad.

"Alright. I'll keep that in mind. I hope you do well in the upcoming championship for your team." With that, she raised her hand to shake with his outstreched one and grasped it in farewell.

Narissa was having second thoughts on the pool after seeing Troy's reaction. A tug of guilt panging in her. But what she said, and didn't say, were true. But seeing the smile on his face and his peppyness back on, she didn't feel so bad.

"Alright. I'll keep that in mind. I hope you do well in the upcoming championship for your team." With that, she raised her hand to shake with his outstreched one and grasped it in farewell.